DAY 3 - Shanghai - Wuhan
This was going to be another busy day. After an early breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and drove to The Bund. Before we continue, there are a few things worth noting. A lovely couple from Prince George, BC ate breakfast with us and told us their story about going to the hotel bar the previous evening. They each ordered two drinks and when the bill arrived, it totalled $200 CAD. This repeated itself all over the areas of China we visited. Not only do you not drink the water here, but also alcohol. When we boarded the ship, the same held true. They did supply beer and wine at lunch and dinner, but other than that we were on our own. We can now see why the Chinese do not drink much alcohol.
The drive to the Bund was interesting. We could almost see it from our hotel, but it was still a slow trip but our views of the spectacular buildings and elegance was fascinating. The famous Bund is the city's elegant waterfront promenade containing many of Shanghai's banks and trading houses. It's not just a boulevard of sterile financial institutions -- the architecture of many of buildings dates to the time when they were the embassies and consulates of other nations, and range from Renaissance to Gothic to art nouveau. The Bund is lined with parks and greenery and is a famous place for strolling.
Across the Huangpu River, Pudong rises in grand splendour. Pudong is one of China's successful "ghost cities", having been developed over the past 20 years. Twenty years ago, the whole area was rice fields. Pudong's architecture is absolutely breathtaking and is Shanghai's financial centre. The many elegant high-rise apartments demand millions of dollars to buy a small unit. It is best known for the skyscraper-stuffed skyline and is one of China's most photographer panoramas.
We strolled the Bund with our tour guide who detailed the many old elegant buildings. We also did a lot of "people watching" and they watched us!
Across the Huangpu River, Pudong
Across the Huangpu River, Pudong
Across the Huangpu River, Pudong
Judi talking to a Chinese student who wanted to practice his English. He wanted a "selfie" of us both when he finished. Really nice young man ... very polite.
The Bund. Shanghai on left, Pudong on right
One of the elegant old buildings on the Bund
Opposite view of the Bund.
We left the Bund and started our 60 minute drive to the airport for our flight to Wuhan. This was where we were to board our ship for the next 5 days. Our guide, Jimmy, gave us very detailed instructions about our flights in China. This was our first of five flights. There are no reserved seats on any planes, you are assigned seats by computer, so there is no guarantee who you will be sitting with. Only one carry-on is allowed, weight not to exceed 5 kg and one piece of luggage, weight not to exceed 20 kg. Absolutely no liquids in carry on. Our passports were kept by Jimmy as he told us they were the most important items we owned in China. Losing your passport was not an option!
Our luggage had been picked up at the hotel in the morning and would be waiting for us, along with our boarding passes when we arrived at the airport. Jimmy would be with us the whole time, but we had to go through security on our own. We did not appreciate the luxury of having our luggage and boarding passes ready for us until we got to the airport and saw the long line-ups at the counters. We were given a box lunch, even though no matter how long a flight you take in China, they always feed you.
Security was pretty brutal! There are no full body scanners there ... everyone has to stand on a round platform and you are frisked and waved with the magic wand.
The actual flight was great. Everything was done in Chinese and English and of course, we were fed. Every flight had the same meals ... rice, chicken (I think) and veggies, or noodles.
Eric was fascinated on our approach to Wuhan. He took lots of photos of the topography. "Ghost cities" in the middle of nowhere, incredible factories, power generators, roads and bridges being constructed and rice fields.
Our little group waiting to go through security in Shanghai.
The ladies had gone to look for the "Western" toilets
Our approach to Wuhan.
We landed in Wuhan, which has a meager population of only 4.26 million. The airport was under heavy construction, with two new terminals with all the infrastructure underway. There was construction everywhere with roads, bridges and interchanges as seen in the picture above. Boom .... boom ... boom .... welcome to the new, developing country of China.
Viking doesn't miss a minute in their itinerary. While the ship was being "turned around" for us, they had us busy. Our luggage had gone ahead of us and would be waiting for us when we got there. In the meantime, we were taken to the Hubei Provincial Museum. The centrepiece of this famous museum is the exhibition of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng which includes one of the world's largest musical instruments, a remarkable five-tonne set of 64 double-tone bronze bells. These bells were found by a team of military engineers who were going to build a warehouse. They noticed that the ground was uneven and investigated further. They were found perfectly preserved. Quite a remarkable story.
We were treated to a concert performed on replica bells. The bells are famous for their perfect pitch, but the original bells are for display only. We were thrilled to be able to video tape the bells being played.
The performers on the bells, in traditional ancient dress.
These are the actual ancient bells. Quite spectacular!
We were finally driving to our ship. Our non-stop travel had made us weary and we were looking forward to a quiet relaxing cruise. NOT!!! After we got settled in our cabins, we all went to dinner and drank too much of the wine ....... while eating dinner, we left port and the cruise through Wuhan at night was spectacular. All the buildings were lit like TV screens with dancing lights, all colour co-ordinated. We saw this each evening all along the Yangzi river.
Now beings our five days of scenic cruising on our way to the remarkable Three Gorges Dam and Xiling Gorge.
Stay tuned .....
No comments:
Post a Comment